experiments in leading a reluctant writer into the world of writing. plus a few other goodies.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Poem #12: Not So. Not So.

Not So. Not So.
Anne Sexton

I cannot walk an inch
without trying to walk to God.
I cannot move a finger
without trying to touch God.
Perhaps it is this way:
He is in the graves of the horses.
He is in the swarm, the frenzy of the bees.
He is in the tailor mending my pantsuit.
He is in Boston, raised up by skyscrapers.
He is in the bird, that shameless flyer.
He is in the potter who makes clay into a kiss.

Heaven replies:
Not so! Not so!

I say thus and thus
and heaven smashes my words.

Is not God in the hiss of the river?

Not so! Not so!

Is not God in the ant heap,
stepping, clutching, dying, being born?

Not so! Not so!

Where then?
I cannot move an inch.

Look to your heart
that flutters in and out like a moth.
God is not indifferent to your need.
You have a thousand prayers
but God has one.

No comments:

Post a Comment

About Me

I am a writer, a former high school English teacher and a homeschooling mother of two fabulous boys who don't yet share my love of writing. I have made it one of my missions to cultivate writers in our little school.